Patriot Act
by NorseGirl23
Summary: Damien never thought he would meet his match in anyone, but that all changed when he met the new girl from Brooklyn. Anna had to live with her brother after both parents were not around, and she thought she was going to hate every moment of it, until she met Damien. Their pasts come for them, and would that make them stronger? Or would they only tear them apart?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

A girl with red-gold hair followed her mother through the apartment building that was her brother's new home. Her mother crisply knocked on the door to her brother's apartment. The door opened to show an older young man with the same red-gold hair and quickly led them through.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" He asked their mother.

"A year at least," her mother answered, even alone they were still as vague as possible.

The girl kept quiet, feeling the worry from not knowing about what could happen to her mother, her only surviving parent. Her mother was quiet, refusing to talk about what she was going to do.

"You'll be going to Gotham Academy," her mother explained gesturing to the school uniform her brother, James, had hung up.

The girl, Anna, made a face as she looked at it. She was beginning to hate that uniform and that school for making her wear that uniform.

"Why?" She found herself asking her mother.

"It's smaller," her mother automatically answered. "And has far better security."

"Gotta love the paranoid rich families," James commented, earning a sharp look from their mother, and he coughed uncomfortably.

Their mother hugged them both before she left, and Anna had the feeling of true worry about her mother's welfare even though it had to be pretty misplaced. The people she was going up against had to be worried of what she could do to them. Still. . .

* * *

Anna had to listen to the principal of her new school talk about the strict rules and expectations that Gotham Academy possessed. She listened and barely paid attention to him. Her grades were pretty good, and she stayed out of trouble. Mostly. He should have known that.

"Anastasia Rogers," he told her, and she winced a little. Her full name was a bit much, but her mother vaguely said it was her mother's name, though it was said with little emotion. "Your schedule. . .just know that we do not tolerate any. . .funny business."

Her getting into fights.

"Yes, sire," Anna said, barely thinking back to the promise her brother had her made before she could even get out of his car.

Anna grabbed her bag and schedule and left the office, so she could look for her locker. they were larger than the ones at her old school, the benefits of having more space, she guessed. She pulled out everything in her bag, but she still looked at the old sketchbook her father had given to her a couple years before. . .everything changed so much in her family's lives, changed so horribly. She barely used it for her drawings, trying so desperately to keep it as long as she possibly could, so she could keep the last remaining good memories she had of her father. That old sketchbook would be with her always, so it was like her father would be with her.

She was so much in her own world that she barely realized that someone was close by, watching her every move. Anna closed the old sketchbook to look over her shoulder to see a boy with dark blue eyes and black hair eyeing her with a strange look. She went back to her stuff, ignoring him as she tried to walk to class.

Someone grabbed her arm, and she narrowed her eyes at the boy who was looking at her. Her free hand clenched into a fist, ready to fight her way out of the situation, away from him if she had to.

"You were going the wrong way," he told her. "To history."

Anna did not relax. "How did you know about that?"

"You put the history textbook in your bag," he remarked. "Come on. I also have that class."

"You don't seem like the person who would help people."

"I am not, but neither are most people here," he answered.

"Great," Anna said. "Can I have my arm back?"

He let go of her arm as they walked on. People got out of their way when they saw him, so she was not shoved around by everyone trying to get to class as quickly as possible.

They walked into class, and she recognized their teacher almost instantly. His neutral expression and love for suits were kind of hard not to notice. She tried not to make a face. Of course they would send someone to keep an eye on her during the school day. Too many people would use it as a chance to get her.

"There was an unfortunate family crisis, and your teacher, Mr. Thompson, had to leave suddenly," he told them. "I'm Mr. Coulson, and I'll be here until further notice."

He went on to talk about his changes to the syllabus, and his voice and eyes lit up a little when he mentioned World War II, not too surprising since he was a huge fan of one part of the Second World War.

That class period was so surreal that she barely remembered what he talked about. Anna never really saw him as the teaching type, and she had to work to keep herself from laughing. That class period she learned the mystery boy's name, Damien Wayne, and the fact that people got out of their way when they walked together made sense. She would not go so far as to say that it was done out of respect for him, maybe awe considering the power his name would come with.

Anna was not sure what was going on, but she was sure that her year at that school would be pretty interesting.

* * *

It was hard not to notice the new girl. she had a strong Brooklyn accent and red-gold hair. she was at her locker absentmindedly flipping through an old and beat-up sketchbook with a small look of pain. She looked at him and snapped her book closed, looking confused, but she was alert, sizing him up as a potential threat. The girl put some notebooks and textbooks into her bag and tried to walk down the hallway to get to history class.

He grabbed her arm, and the girl looked like was ready to fight him. Her eyes narrowed, and her free hand clenched into a fist. She could have looked very dangerous, but that did not concern him.

"You were going the wrong way to history," he told her.

The girl's eyes flashed dangerously. "How did you know that?"

"You put the history textbook in your bag," he explained. "Come on."

"You don't seem like the type of person who would help people," she said, pulling her arm back.

"I am not, but neither are most people here," he told her.

"Great," she said, but she seemed to accept his answer. "Can I have my arm back?'

As they walked, he let go of her arm, and she looked at him for a moment with a questioning look. Her light blue eyes would never back down from a challenge. They walked into class, and it looked like the girl knew the new teacher. At first, she looked irritated, but then she seemed to be amused.

The new girl, her name was Anastasia Rogers, was a different kind of person. Damien had a feeling that she was always alert, like a fighter would be, but she would not always attack someone unless she felt like she had to.

After school, she was sitting under a tree, her sketchbook open on her lap, and she was drawing the school, looking back at it every once in awhile. She looked like she was really concentrating and being so serious. Damien saw what she was working on, and he had to admit that she had some skill, drawing hidden pictures and meanings into anything she was drawing, nothing that he expected would come from anyone.

She looked up at him and quickly closed the book. Her eyes flashed dangerously, and they locked with his. Most people would have looked away after an uncomfortable few seconds, but she stared him down, a challenge or a play for dominance. It was different.

"Yes?" She asked.

He found himself scowling. "I am standing here."

She seemed unconvinced. "You were creeping on my stuff."

"I would not waste my time with someone who had no talent."

"You wouldn't even know what real talent is," she snapped back at him, putting her sketchbook in her bag.

"You clearly do not," he told her, but she only laughed.

Damien shook his head. No one tried to talk to him like that. He was the one who spoke to to other people, and everyone else had to have a grudging respect for him. Damien did not notice the apologetic look she had given him before she climbed into a car. He was only trying to place her, not really sure what to think about her.

Anastasia Rogers was different.

* * *

Anna had to admit to herself that seeing the look of shock on Damien's face when she snapped at him was worth the slight prick of the conscience. The fact that he did not expect anyone to talk back to him was a bit sad. He must have thought that his name and status would keep them from questioning him. That being said, she liked that little exchange they had, trying to insult each other and trying to outdo the other, and she was looking forward to doing that again.

She pulled on her running shoes and grabbed her iPod. Anna needed to run. It helped her concentrate on her homework and going to sleep. Her brother was on some kind of date with a young woman with long black hair, probably his reason for staying in Gotham City, so James was not there to stop her from running at that time in that city. She did not notice that she was not along.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

A girl with short red-gold hair was running by herself in Gotham City at night. She had on shorts and a t-shirt, and she looked like she could not defend herself, small in stature and listening to her music. The girl was not alone. Before the two men who were following her could even act, she stopped running and took out her earphones, looking around her.

She kicked the feet out from under one man and punched the other's stomach with what looked like she was using all of her strength and weight behind that once punch. Both men were doubled over in pain, and she went back to running. The first man grabbed her ankle, and she fell to the ground. That was when she acted.

Robin landed in from them, and the man quickly let go of the girl's ankle to move away in fear. The girl used that moment to tackle the man to the ground. She quickly got to her feet and grabbed her fallen iPod. Behind his mask, Robin's eyes would have widened when he recognized the girl. Anastasia Rogers. He did not stop her when she ran off.

There was barely anything about that new girl that indicated she even knew how to fight, but what he had just seen proved otherwise. Her movements were too controlled, too precise, to be lucky shots. Rogers had some intense training in her life, and how she reacted to his sudden appearance in the school hallway made more sense. Her training was so ingrained. It became very much a part of her life and interactions with other people.

Anastasia Rogers was not a normal girl. To say his interest was piqued would have been an understatement.

* * *

Back at the Cave, Damien was at the computer, doing any kind of research on that mysterious new girl. He stared at that screen for almost three years, and he still could not find anything on her. It was like she did not exist. There were a number of things that could explain that. Fugitives. Witness protection. But, there was no information that would make those scenarios seem plausible. There was absolutely nothing.

Damien had to fight off his frustration. He could find most of what he wanted, but at that moment the skills he learned from his father were coming to nothing. He was going to have to wait, and who knows what could happen? Damien could try to use his other, older, connections from his time with his mother, but he had a feeling that it might not have been a good idea. There was a reason why she wanted to be so well hidden. There there was the fact that just because he knew who she was, would not answer the question of who trained her. He hated not knowing.

* * *

Anna walked into the building, and she was soon walking with Damien . As always he was wearing a scowl but at that moment Anna was not really caring.

"Wayne," Anna said in a sort of greeting.

"Rogers," he barely said back. "You're actually on time today."

"My brother needs to trust me with a car," Anna remarked. "But, that will never happen."

"Maybe that has to do with your lack of concentration," he said.

She laughed at that. He had no idea how ridiculous that was.

"You got me, Wayne," she said, smiling up at him. "Of course that doesn't explain yours."

"My what?" He asked.

"Where's your car?"

"That is not important."

"Hey," Anna said before she turned to her locker. "You opened the door when you mocked my driving skills. It's only fair. . ."

She grabbed what she needed for her first class, not even seeing another girl outright glaring at her. Probably for talking with Damien.

Damien was still walking with her on her way to class. He did not say anything to her at first, but she did not mind.

"You are living with your brother," he said.

"Yeah," Anna said, giving him a strange look. How would he know that? "Mom's doing something for work, and she's going to be gone for awhile. Dad. . .he's. . .he's in Arlington. . ." It was her way of saying that her father had died and was given a hero's burial, even though there was people who though he did not deserve it because of the events leading up to his death. He gave her a strange look, though he understood that she seemed to be pretty saddened by talking about her father. "James does not know how to cook, and he can barely wake up in time for me to get to class."

"To me," Damien replied. "It seems like you are using him as an excuse for being late."

Anna stuck her tongue out at him before she walked into class. Damien gave her a small, baffled expression before he schooled it.

* * *

A freshman was being mocked for being a "scholarship kid" by some of the seniors who were from the oldest and most powerful families of the city. Rogers stopped walking, and she was wearing a look of outrage. Before Damien could even stop her, Rogers walked over to them, hands clenching and unclenching over and over again. She spoke to them quickly and quietly somehow managing to make the seniors back away from the younger boy. She helped the boy to his feet and helped dust off the back of his school blazer before turning back to him.

Her eyes still flashed dangerously, and her nostrils were still flared. She could been considered dangerous looking. Rogers walked with a controlled gate like she was fighting with herself to keep from running after them.

Damien touched her arm as she walked past him. "What was that about?"

She stopped walking to look at him, and she visibly relaxed. "I don't like people like them. I never had."

It was a sight he never would have expected from anyone at that school, but it gave him an insight into who she was, whether she meant it to or not. Rogers gave him a thoughtful look, and her eyes softened.

"At least you didn't join them," she said quietly.

"I do not waste my time to do that," Damien said. "Some of the people here do not deserve the status they were born with."

She gave him a look and shook her head. "Someone who didn't know any better would misinterpret that."

"What do you think?" He quirked an eyebrow up at her.

She grinned. "I noticed that look. You didn't like this world and and the people who inhabit it." She snorted. "Actually, you looked like you were going to act, but you had to stop yourself." She cocked her head to the side. "Why would you do that?"

She had sharp eyes. not that many people would have noticed that he had to keep himself from acting.

Rogers laughed. "Your secret's safe with me, Wayne. no one will need to know about your compassion for the little man."

He had a feeling that she would keep her promise from the way her voice shook with finality and how sincere her eyes looked.

"Miss Rogers," their principal's voice filled the hall, and Rogers grimaced.

"How much do you wanna bet that those guys lied to him?" She whispered to him. "Yes sir?"

He all but yelled at her, painting those boys as the wronged party.

"I saw the whole thing," Damien said. "She broke them up when they were attacking a freshman."

The principal listened to him, believing him with each moment. He left, without apologizing to Rogers, to deal with with the boys.

Rogers scowled at the principal when he was out of earshot. "Jack ass."

"Greyson has always said -"

She touched his arm. "Yeah, I get it. Money talks around here. At my school, I got into a lot of fights over that same thing. Broke my nose once. Normally he wouldn't have been too far off."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Anna followed her brother through the charity event, barely even able to walk in her heels, and she was beginning to hate the black dress of her mother's that she found. Her brother wore a dreamy expression on his face, and his eyes scanned the crowd, looking for his girlfriend probably. James walked over to a young woman with long black hair and wearing a purple dress, and she smiled up at him when she saw him.

She walked far away from the two of them, smiling to herself. James never looked at anyone like he looked at that young woman.

"What brings you here?" Damien asked her.

She quickly turned to see him, and she smiled at him. "Hello to you, too."

He was looking at her, and for a moment, he seemed like he was working to find the words to talk to her. His eyes moved up and down her, taking in every detail of what she looked like with her short and tight black dress. Anna quirked up an eyebrow at him and crossed her arms. Damien's eyes looked back into hers.

Damien walked closer to her, running a hand through his hair. "There is more to you than you let people see."

Anna laughed really hard. "Normal women would have been uncomfortable with what you just said."

"That is not what I meant," Damien said, shaking his head. "Everything else about you is completely different."

"I'm taking that as a compliment," Anna said, trying to hide how that small phrase affected her.

"You would." He went back to being himself, which she did not mind.

Damien being himself was something she could understand and deal with much better than him giving her small and random compliments.

"Is there something wrong with that?" She teased, but he was not paying attention to her.

His eyes were following James and the dark haired woman as they left the room. Damien clenched his jaw and followed them, and his eyes flashed dangerously. If she did not know any better, she would have thought that Damien would have easily killed her brother if he had the chance. Anna followed him, maybe to diffuse the situation, if she had to.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

James and the woman pulled apart. She fixed her hair and dress.

"Damien. . ." the woman said. "This is James. We've been seeing each other for over two years."

Damien glared at James, becoming even more hostile than before.

"Helena," he said, never once stopped glaring at him. "He has to be taking advantage of you."

"That's my brother you're insulting," she spat. "Don't you dare talk about him like that!"

"I can," Damien hissed. "I will do what I can to protect my family."

"That's one thing we agree on," Anna said, deadly quietly.

James quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Damien before she lost all of her control and attacked Damien. Helena rested a firm hand on her half-brother's shoulder and squeezed it.

"Okay, Damien," Helena said, her voice icy cold. "I don't need you to protect me from everything. Trust my judgement for once."

Damien narrowed his eyes at James and Anna as they left the room. She glared at him before she never looked back at him.

* * *

Damien walked through the annoying throng of people in that charity function. He stopped short when he saw the familiar red-gold hair of Anastasia Rogers. She wore the polite and a little bored expression on her face, but that was not what made him really look at her.

He walked over to her, and his eyes began to move up and down her, taking in how she looked in the black dress she was wearing, taking in how great she looked in the black dress she was wearing.

"What brings you here?" He told her.

She turned to look at him, and for a moment he had to stop and really look at her. He blinked a couple times to keep himself from saying or doing something he would later regret.

Her smile was blinding. "Hello to you, too."

Rogers gave a strange look as he stared at her, and she cocked her head to the side, giving him what could have been a questioning look. His eyes locked with hers.

He ran a hand through his hair, unconsciously clearing his throat.

"There is more to you than you let people see," he realized. It was true. She appeared to be the quiet artist who was stuck in a school she hated, but there were times when she showed an inner fire, a strength that most people would not have realized would even come from her.

She began to laugh very hard, holding her stomach towards the end. "Normal women would have been uncomfortable with what you just said."

He shook his head. Of course she would go there. Children always did. Sometimes it made him like the normal person.

"That is not what I meant," he told her. "Everything about you is completely different."

She smiled. "I'm taking that as a compliment."

Rogers had smiled at him before, but at that moment, he realized there was something very different about that smile. It had to do with her eyes. They shone with a different life kind of light, and it was brighter. For a moment, she was looking at him differently. What he said must have really affected her, and she was trying to hide it.

"You would," he said, trying to get back to how he would normally act.

Rogers said something to him, trying to be playful and recovering from earlier, but he was not really paying attention. Helena, his older half-sister, walking way too closely with a young man with the same shade of hair as Rogers, her older brother, and the two of them left the room. It was a move he recognized Greyson doing before his marriage to Gordon. He quickly followed them, rage building, and he was vaguely aware of Rogers following after him.

Damien opened the door to see Rogers' older brother pushing Helena against the wall, his mouth moving down her neck.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

They pulled apart, and Helen was trying to fix herself.

"Damien. . .this is James. We've been seeing each other for over two years."

He glared at the man, trying to keep his rage from boiling over. He gan to clench and unclench his fists. The rage to wring that man's neck was very strong.

"Helena, he's taking advantage of you," he was trying to reason with her.

Her eyes flashed dangerously, but Rogers had pushed in front of him. She was livid.

"That's my brother you're insulting," she practically spat. "Don't you dare talk about him like that."

"I can," he hissed back. "I will do what I can to protect my family."

Rogers became deadly quiet. "That's one thing we agree on."

That was when her older brother grabbed her arm and pulled her away from him, understanding that there was something dangerous about her at that moment. Helena laid a firm hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. Her voice and eyes becoming icy cold when she quietly spoke to him. He was still glaring at James.

It was Rogers' reaction that cut deep. She glared at him before she turned to leave. Eyes that were once full of. . .something softer were so full of hate before she left. He was not sure what to make of that.

* * *

"Why would I think he was different from all of them?" Anna was asking her brother.

He just let her rant about what had happened that night. Anna did believe that he was different from those of the people she had to deal with on a daily basis, but his reaction to James and Helena were dating proved otherwise. It should have bothered her as much as it did, though. For some reason, she felt like his reaction was directed at her and not at her brother. It should not have bothered her, but it did. She really, really wanted to cry at that moment.

Damien had hurt her.

* * *

Damien, as Robin, was climbing and swinging between buildings, but there was rhyme or reason as to where he was going until he saw what had to be the apartment that Rogers lived in with her older brother. She was moving slowly around her room, kicking off her shoes and unzipping her dress. He looked away, giving her the privacy she deserved, though he wanted to watch her. . .what was wrong with him?

The guilt was eating away at him after he was talking with Helena. It had to do with the way she spoke about him and the way he treated her. Her voice was so full of love, and she was so. . .happy. There was no way he was using her. She would not have allowed it to happen in the first place.

He turned back to see Rogers sitting on her bed, her old sketchbook opened in front of her, but she was not drawing, only looking at it. Her shoulders were shaking with silent sobbing. He had to keep himself from climbing through the window to comfort her.

Damien shook his head. Where was that coming from? He was raised not to allow for any of that kind of weakness to show. Why should he care? Maybe that was why she was so different. He was beginning to be like a normal human being when he was around her, and he was beginning to not really care about that.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Anna was sitting alone in the cafeteria, working on her math homework. She was in her own world and had been the past few days since she saw Damien Wayne's true colors, and she found herself counting down the days until her mother's work was done, and she could not get back to her old school in New York.

"Rogers." Damien saw across from her, but she still ignored him. "She had a couple horrible ex-boyfriends."

"Still," Anna finally said. "Did you really have to go to that conclusion?"

"I wish I did before," Damien defended as rationally as he could.

Anna narrowed her eyes and shook her head. "You just didn't know my brother, I guess."

"Helena made sure of that," Damien told her.

Anna gave a small laugh. "I'm sure of it."

For some reason, she was feeling for better after this conversation. An overprotective brother, younger or older, she could understand. She had been dealing with that pretty much her entire life.

She quirked an eyebrow. "Was that an apology?"

"If you want it to be," Damien replied, but his eyes flashed with something that she could not name at that time.

"You know what?" Anna replied, giving him an even brighter smile. "I'll take what I can get, Wayne. One more thing I can have against your image."

He gave her a baffled look as she walked out of the cafeteria. Yeah, it did feel really great having that talk with him. Anna was not really counting down the days anymore. She was beginning to look forward to all of the days ahead.

* * *

Damien watched her leave the cafeteria, and he was trying to keep himself from smiling after her. It was very interesting that she went from furious to laughing after that short conversation. Her smile was pretty bright before she left, and he could not really place what it made him feel.

Damien liked seeing her so happy. Or, at least as happy as she ever could be. But, he really liked her smile and the way it practically lit up her whole face. He followed after her. She was at her locker, flipping through her old sketchbook, and she looked up at him when she realized she was not alone.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing," Damien remarked. "You seem to be very attached to that."

She closed her eyes and put the old book in her bag. "My dad gave it to me before. . .everything. . ."

Damien knew enough to read through what she had just told him. She lost her father, and it was probably the last thing he her before he died.

"You barely use it."

"I want to keep it as long as possible."

He stopped himself from reaching out to her. It was almost an involuntary action, and he did not expect it to even happen. Her eyes looked at him, a questioning look like she noticed what he had just done, and she smiled at him again. He felt himself almost soften when it happened. Rogers reach out for him, instead. Her hand rested on his shoulder, and she moved it down his chest. Damien grabbed her wrist, and he brought it to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist. She closed her eyes and sighed.

Her shock barely rivaled his when that happened, and her eyes were so full of shock when she looked up at him. She pulled her hand back and cleared her throat.

"I. . .have to. . ." She began to babble, but she stopped herself.

Her eyes flashed with something, and she kissed his cheek, very close to the corner of his mouth. Damien looked into her eyes, and they were challenging him. With his bloodlines, he would never back away from a challenge.

* * *

Anna waited for her brother, and Damien sat next to her. She smiled at him before going back to her sketchbook, the skyline of Gotham that they could even see from in front of the school. At that point, she actually allowed him to look at what she was drawing, and he saw very close to her. Anna could feel the heat coming off of him.

Damien's mouth brushed up to her ear, making her shiver. "Your father taught you how to draw?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a little a while, composing herself before she could answer. The corners of her mouth went up, and she leaned back.

"It was always there, I guess," she finally answered. "He just. . .fostered it and allowed it to grow. . ."

Damien breathed very gently in her ear and against her neck, and she let out a shaky breath. Anna ran her hand down the side of his face, slowly and deliberately, and she had him look at her. She almost went to kiss him, but she pulled away from him, giving him an apologetic smile, when she saw her brother's car pull up. He gave her a look that did not sit too well with her. A challenge that she had to accept. Her nature would make her to, and she hated losing.

"You guys were getting along," James commented in a clipped tone.

"Yeah," Anna replied.

James was quiet for awhile as he drove, but by the way he clenched his jaw, he was not happy about something.

"You're not going to use that to distract him, are you?"

Anna snorted and gave him a look. "No, I won't." She thought for a little bit. "I had some time to cool down a bit."

"That's a first."

Anna was stubborn and headstrong, and that her to be a little impulsive with everything she said or did, and the fact that she backed away from one course of action was completely new and different for her.

James shook his head, but for some reason, he was not happy. The two of them had sharp eyes, so maybe he saw Damien sitting very close to her.

A car was following very close to them, and James' hands tightened around the steering wheel. He drove slowly and began to drive around, not even going anywhere near his apartment. His eyes flashed towards her, and he gave her a small nod.

Anna pulled out her phone and hit number four on speed dial. Phil Coulson. She put it on speaker phone, and her brother rapidly described the car and the situation. He was not able to finish the description of the driver when the other car hit them from behind. Her head hit the window next to her, and everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Robin looked through the wrecked car when he and Batman appeared on the scene after they were specifically called by an archer in purple. The man was spinning an arrow in between his hands, showing a nervous habit, and he was talking very quietly with Batman.

"I know that you and James were friends," the man, Hawkeye, said. "So, you know who would go after them."

Batman, Greyson, was very quiet as he was thinking through what the archer had told him.

"None of them," Greyson finally said. "What was their mother doing?"

Hawkeye became very, very quiet. "I was afraid of that, but I can't tell you the specifics."

Damien's hands ran over the old and beat-up sketchbook that was very familiar to him. Rogers. She was gone, and in the hands of some very violent people. Strangely, his hands were shaking when he picked it up. He had to promise himself that he would find her, and the people who were foolish enough to take her would pay. The archer saw what he was holding, and he actually went pale. Very pale.

"She would not willingly leave that behind," he said.

Damien looked through the two wrecked cars, and the one that hit her brother's car held two interesting pieces of information. The pictures of Rogers and her brother doing their normal daily routines and a picture of the car. They were being followed for a long time.

"Who would go after them?" Damien asked Greyson.

"Their parents," he answered, quietly. "Are two of the Avengers."

"Why would anyone waste their time with them, then?"

He had strong opinions about the people in New York. The nicest thing he said about them was that they were minor heroes doing the little work the League would have no time for. Greyson patiently explained to him the magnitude of everything, but the archer pointed the arrow at him as he began to talk.

"Their parents are two of the greatest people I know, and you're disrespecting his memory -" Greyson had to rest a hand on his arm to quiet him.

"Trust us on this one, Robin," Greyson said while actually working to withhold certain pieces of information.

For some reason, that did not even calm him like it should have. He will get her back. He had to.

* * *

Anna slowly woke up. Her head was killing her, and the side of her face was sticky was her blood. She tried to clean off the blood with a handkerchief her parents taught her to always carry, but she realized her hands were tied. James was barely conscious on the other side of the room they were in, and he looked like he had been through hell.

"James?" She croaked.

"Anna? Thank god you're alright," he said, actually sounding very relieved.

"Where are we?" She asked. Maybe she was afraid of the answer.

"Just out of the city. . .I think. . ."

The door opened, and a man in a crisp black suit walked into the room. He looked down at the two of them and motioned to one of the guards.

"Why are they tied up?" He asked in an accented English. "Untie them."

Anna's hands were freed, and she quickly wiped the blood off the side of her face with her handkerchief. Her brother quickly moved towards her to check out the cut on her head.

"Excuse them," the man said, calmly and urbanely. "Their manners do not reflect my own."

James' eyes flashed when he lowered his hands. "Why are we here?"

"Your mother," he told them, all politeness gone. "Where is she?"

"We don't know," James answered.

"That's not good enough," the man said. "Otherwise, your sister wouldn't have moved here. Now, where's your mother?"

* * *

"I saw them carry two people," the kid explained. He was one of the few people who was not intimidated by the new Robin.

"A girl and a young man?" Greyson asked. The boy could tell that Batman was little different at that point.

"Yeah," the kid answered. "They looked pretty beat up, too."

The boy ran off when he finished telling his information, and Damien had to stop himself from running towards that building. He could hear Greyson telling him what they would to safely get the brother and sister out of the building. He understood what he was being told, but there was a part of him who could not listen. That part was worrying about her too much and thinking about what was happening to her.

He crawled through a window, and he fought his way through many of the guards as Greyson went over him, looking for where they were kept. Damien ran past a room, and he could hear yelling. He stopped moving and pushed it open. A man in a suit was pacing, always asking the same question over and over again.

"Where's your mother?"

When they refused to answer or they would mock him, one guard would strike the other while making sure the one being questioned would see it.

"Your mother is ruining an important operation of mine," the man would say, trying to be very patient. "Tell me. . ."

The guard noticed him and turned to attack him. Damien dealt with him, and Rogers scrambled to the man in the suit, and she kicked his feet out from under him. Damien wrapped the man up his rope, and the man yelled at him in Russian. Rogers' brother held the guard as Damien walked over to Rogers.

He ran a shaking hand through her hair and ran his fingers over the cut that was over her right eye. Rage was starting to boil over, but he worked to clamp it down. She did not need it at that moment.

She visibly relaxed when she looked into his eyes, and hers flashed with recognition. Rogers moved closer to him and buried her face in his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and for a brief moment, he allowed themselves to comfort each other.

"I got you, Anna," Damien told her very quietly. "I got you."

* * *

The pain. Anna really remembered the pain. They took quite a beating from the man who referred to himself as being polite. All she could really register was the pain.

She was only vaguely aware of the man suddenly stopping, looking in the direction of the door. That was when she acted, kicking out his feet from under him. Then Robin picked her up, holding her as gently as he even could. He ran a shaking hand through her hair and over her cut as she looked into his eyes.

Anna instantly recognized him. Damien. She relaxed a lot when she realized that, and she buried her face in his neck, needing the comfort that he was giving her. Instead of pushing her away, he held her closely to him, rocking her back and forth.

"I got you, Anna," he told her very quietly. "I got you."

She had to hold back her tears. It was the first time she even heard him use her first name, never mind her nickname, and there was that little feeling that it meant a lot. It was the beginning of something different between the two of them.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Rogers. . .Anna. . .was not in school the next day. She was not sick, but really her brother wanted to make sure she really was alright before she left his sight. It was what he would have done, if it was up to him. All he could say about that say was it was never really the same with her gone.

After school, he went to her brother's apartment, "to drop off her homework," and she was the one who answered the door. Her smile. . .she never really smile at him like that. It was. . .it made. . . Damien closed his eyes, too much for him to handle, then. He really should not have been feeling like that. Not even about her, but there he was.

"Umm. . .come in?" She said, unsure and uncertain, after she cleared her throat. She made no move to tease him.

Damien followed her, and he watched her move, could not take his eyes off of her. She turned to look at him, and she wore a strange expression.

"Um. . ." She was trying to find the words. A first for her. "I. . ." She closed her eyes. "You're Robin. It. . .shouldn't surprise me. Actually. . .nothing should anymore."

He sat on an old couch, and she went to get him a glass of water. Anna had relaxed a lot since he first came into the apartment. She handed him the glass as she sat down next to him, and he moved a little closer to her, setting the glass on the only free coaster on the coffee table.

"Why was he so interested in what your mother was doing?" He asked.

She looked at him, shaking her head. "I can't tell you that. I'm sorry."

He did not push it, but he felt a cold fury. She was involved in a battle that was not even her own. Damien grabbed her hand, an unconscious act, but it felt right. Very right, and she did not fight him off like he thought she would do. She wore a small smile.

"I should not be surprised that you are really different," he said.

She let her smile go away and narrowed her eyes. "Meaning what?"

"You parents," Damien said.

"Don't really want to talk about that, right now," she said.

Anna went to pull her hand away, and he let her go. She looked away from him, biting her bottom lip. Her eyes looked back to him, and he was not sure how to act around her. Anna was barely conscious or barely even paying attention to him when he called her by her nickname. For him, that meant a lot. The way she acted. . .it was like. . .it was very different from before.

"Anna. . ." he said, and she looked at him, her eyes softening a lot.

"Damien," she said. "Thank you for. . ."

She stopped talking, biting her lip, and she kissed him. Damien tangled his fingers through her hair as he kissed her back. They pulled apart, and he brushed her red-gold hair out of her face, a tender gesture. Their eyes locked. and she gave him her brilliant smile from before. It was no wonder that he gave her a small one in return.

* * *

It started when she looked into his eyes. Anna felt so safe and secure, and when he cradled her to him, she realized she needed. It helped her get past what had happened, being in his arms. She knew that it meant something, that feeling, but she did not, could not voice it.

James had her stay home from school to heal from her injuries. It was the longest day ever, and in the afternoon, Damien was at the door. She smiled, really smiled, before she could stop herself. He was staring at her as she led him into the apartment, and she was not sure what to think about that. Anna felt so awkward and unsure around him, and she could barely meet his eyes. They made that feeling even worse.

"Anna. . ." There was her name again, and she could listen to him say it all of the time.

"Damien. . .thank you for. . ."

Her voice died away, and she felt so frustrated at that. She could barely voice her feelings to him and talking to him used to be so easy.

Anna kissed him, an impulsive act that she expected, but she lost that impulsiveness when she realized her feelings for him. Damien kissed her back, tangling his fingers in her hair. They pulled away, and his eyes had softened a lot. She automatically smiled, and he gave her a small one in return. Damien kissed her, pulling her even closer to him, and she climbed into his lap. He mouthed down her neck, and he pushed her away when they heard the apartment door open.

"Anna," James' voice called out to her. "You're not going to believe -"

He stopped talking when he saw Damien, and he actually narrowed his eyes at him. She glared at him back, daring him to say anything, and James silently backed off. Damien and Anna were not alone, then, but they brushed a few touches. Anna led him to the door and kissed him goodbye. When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers, and she had a small smile.

"Wait. . .what wouldn't I believe?" Anna asked her brother once Damien had left.

"Two things," James said, his face lighting up. "Me and Helena. . .we're getting married. . ."

"I believe that," Anna said, feeling happy for her brother.

"And, Mom called," he chose his words very carefully. "It's about Dad. . ."

What he told her next managed to break through the fog that the horrible news created, and she had to believe him. It was a sick joke if he was wrong. She started to laugh and cry at the same time. Their father was alive.

* * *

"You were gone for quite a while, Little D," Greyson remarked when he tried to move unseen through the manor.

Greyson seemed to be very amused, but he did not need to mention Anna's name. He saw the way he held her when he ran into that room. Damien had always said that he would never be that weak.

"And?" Damien asked, trying not show that weakness.

"Just an observation," Greyson replied.

Damien chose to ignore that and tried to make his way to his room. Helena found him, and she was wearing that dreamy smile she always had after any time she was with James Rogers. She was playing with a ring that she was beginning to wear.

"You may not like him," she said. "But. . ."

"You will marry him whether I like him or not."

She nodded, but she was both happy and sad. Happy to marry the love of her life, but saw that their father would never really have the chance to see that moment. They were quiet as they thought about the father they had lost when their whole world was falling apart.

"I may not like him," Damien admitted. "But, Father would have."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Damien was busy training, so he was only partially aware of Anna walking into the cave. Only partially. She was wearing shorts and a tank top, like she was ready to train, but she was only watching him, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He stopped what he was doing to look back at her.

"Please don't stop on my account," Anna teased.

He went to get some water, and he began to wo wonder about the girl who wo captivated him.

"Can you even defend yourself?" He asked when he remembered that important piece of information about her parents. She had to have learned at some point in her childhood. "You have been kidnapped before."

"My parents made sure I can take care of myself," Anna said, stretching. "Not to mention the extended family."

Damien stopped drinking the water and walked over to her. "Prove it."

She smiled. "I think it should be. . ."

They began to spar, and she allowed her words to die away. it was like she wanted to surprise him for some reason. Anna held back her attacks, only defending herself. she was testing him, seeing how he acted, but she made one move that he would have expected one of his grandfather's assassins would make. It was not something he expected from her.

"Where did -" He tried to ask her, but she switched to a style that could only be described as a mixture of judo and kickboxing.

Anna was still holding back, not giving him the full force of each punch or kick. He kicked her feet out from under her, and he pinned her to the ground, her arms over her head.

"Not bad," he admitted, whispering into her ear. "But, you were holding back. Too much."

Damien's eyes became very hot as he looked down at her, and it was enough to make her feel very hot, and she would have flushed. His lips brushed over her temple.

"Not good enough," he told her.

She could feel the heat coming from his body, and she could smell his skin. Anna closed her eyes, and her nipples hardened under her tank top. Damien shifted his weight, and she gasped when she felt him. He kissed her even more fiercely, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, and Damien dropped his hand, running his fingers over the skin of her stomach. He circled them around her breasts with a light and feathery touch. Her nipples throbbed, and a fire surged through her body.

Damien's hand began to cup her left breath, gently bouncing it up and down. He squeezed a nipple, compressing and releasing it in time with their sucking mouths. Anna ran her fingers along his spine, and his hand traveled downward to the curve of her waist.

After awhile, he disengaged and rubbed his hardness against her. She felt an explosion in her loins and found it hard to even breathe. Damien slid her tank top towards her chest, making circular with the palm of his hand, and he ran his hand over over her nipple. Anna arched her back and moaned, blacking out almost all of reality from feeling that sensation. His hand moved to the waistband of her shorts to pull them down as he sucked at the nape of her neck.

They heard echoes of a voice in the Cave, and he rolled off her as she began to fix her tank top and steadied their breathing. He pulled her towards a place to hide until they could safely get out of the Cave without being seen.

"Helena's getting married," Dick said to whomever was on the other monitor. "James Rogers."

There was a moment of silence as whoever Dick was speaking to was probably the information.

"He's like his father." Damien stiffened when he heard that voice. "If he paid attention at all, he would be good to her."

"Is that your approval?" Dick asked sounding shocked.

"As much as I will give."

It was not long after that conversation when Dick left the Cave, but the two of them were barely paying attention to what was happening beyond where they were hiding. That moment they had shared was still fresh in their minds. Anna's breathing hitched whenever they touched each other, and her shirt felt constricting. Damien was almost preoccupied with something else, but the way he would look down at her would show that he was not fully oblivious of being that close to her after what had happened, and he ran a hand through his hair as he cleared his throat.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked, holding both of his wrists.

Damien looked down at her, and he pulled his hands out of her wrists. One hand moved down to run up and down her back before he could stop himself.

"Greyson was talking to my father." She raised an eyebrow. "My father died when I was ten to save the world."

"Don't people stay dead?" She said very, very quietly.

"What?" He asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Nothing."

* * *

He played through the old security footage that showed a red-haired agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Cold War legend known as the Black Widow. She was one of the best the Red Room had to offer, but there she was, living her own life and married with two children. Two children. . .a son and a daughter. . .a daughter that could be like her mother.

He began to form a plan. A new and better Black Widow, the best of what her parents' versions of the serum had to offer, and one who would be more loyal than her mother. He had her followed in that city her mother was foolish into thinking would be safe for her to be in without her careful and watchful eye. Her movements were known to him, and he knew when she would be alone.

Anastasia Rogers would soon join the Red Room whether she wanted to or not.

* * *

Damien walked her out of the manor to her brother's car. At first he paid attention only to her, but he could notice movement off in the distance. A man was watching them. His grip tightened around Anna's arm like he was going to stop her, but she pulled away from him, scowling up at him.

"Anna. . ." Damien said. Maybe he was trying to stop her and reason with her. "Don't. . ."

He closed his eyes. This. . .this. . .it was so distracting and so muddying. He hated it, but he had no problem with her. He was not sure how he could keep with his training when he was worrying about her. Anna could be a lethal distraction.

"Don't what?" Anna asked.

"Be careful," he could only find himself saying.

Anna gave him a confused look and gave a small nod before climbing into her brother's car. That man followed them. Anna had better be safe at home.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Anna went out running after school, promising her brother that she would not be out too late. James was very reluctant about letting her be out of his sight for very long, but there was nothing that he could really do to stop her. She was listening to her favorite music as she ran, not paying too close attention to the world around her. Anna would have noticed the old luxury vehicle following closely after her. It kept pace with her. Slowing and picking up its pace whenever she did.

She made it back to her brother's building with no incident, and oddly enough, she did not really seem to know how close she was to seeing the face that haunted her mother and aunt for years. Anna noticed that Damien was keeping a close eye on the building while sitting across the street. She stopped walking into the building and walked over to him, giving him a dark glare.

"What are you doing, Damien?" She asked him.

His eyes flashed, almost dangerously. "Waiting for you."

Damien looked around them before he pulled her to him, kissing her as lightly as he could. She pulled away from, bothered by some kind of question.

"What's wrong?" She asked him. "Why are you here?"

"There is. . .nothing. . .wrong. . ." He was trying to keep his voice calm and collected as he normally could, but she saw through that lie. There was no way that she should feel happy about that.

"You're lying, Damien. Lying."

His eyes slightly widened in shock. "After what happened to you, I made a promise that it would never happen again."

Anna felt herself soften at what he had told her. A smile had fought to show itself, and Damien reached out to brush her sweaty red-gold hair out of her face. She blinked a couple of times

"Come on," she finally said. "You can come in, I guess."

* * *

The Black Widow's daughter was oblivious to what should have been the threats around her. Obliviousness born from having that most American of childhoods, creating a woman who was not alert enough to even survive.

"There is no way they would be her parents," the man muttered in Russian.

He parked the car in an alleyway to better see the apartment. Orders were orders, no matter what his opinion even was. He would wait to take her. Despite being so oblivious, she would be the perfect candidate for the return of the Red Room.

* * *

Damien had been following Anna when they were not spending time together, and he noticed that she was being followed and observed during her every waking moment. He was not sure why, and that uncertainty bothered him. He shook his head He would figure it out. Had to. Damien knew that he had to, or. . .something could happen to her.

There was a night when that Alexandra Romanoff that Todd had been obsessing about for a couple years made her appearance. She quietly spoke with Anna, and whatever she had told her must have bothered her a lot. He wanted to walk over to her and be the one to comfort her, but Todd made his appearance.

"I never thought I'd see you be so concerned about someone else," Todd remarked, seemingly very amused.

"Quit being so ridiculous," Damien replied, scowling back at him.

"It's an observation," Todd replied, fighting off his laughter. "And it's pretty true."

Damien scowled at Todd, but before he could say anything, Alexandra Romanoff walked over to them. Todd had to smile when he saw her, as always was the case. She frowned when she saw Damien.

"I have it from here," she said. "You will leave. Now."

"You cannot order me. . ." Damien said very hotly. It was as close to an outburst as he ever would.

The older woman only gave him a very cold and calm look. Her own glare would have made his own blood run cold if he did not have the childhood he had.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with," she told him, her voice becoming pretty thick with a Russian accent. "Now, go."

Todd made sure Damien left with him, but Damien fought with him. There was no way he would give up on keeping Anna safe.

"She'll be fine," Todd tried to reassure him.

Damien looked back at the woman. Something was not right, and it was really bothering him. He shook his head. Something about that family. . .

* * *

Damien glared at the computer in the Cave. Next to nothing on Alexandra Romanoff and Anna's parents except for a thick file with most of its information being redacted. It was so frustrating and insane. That was when he looked through old and very grainy videos about the Avengers doing something in New York before they broke apart. There was a part that was very interesting. A woman with shirt, red hair was able to fight, but there was something about her that was too familiar. She was Anna's mother. The Black Widow was Anna's mother.

He knew of the Black Widow. Many of his League of Shadows teachers were still in awe of that woman and the program that created others like her. His grandfather and his mother tried and failed to recreate that program, but it never really worked. The Red Room was a one of a kind program that created assassins. It was a legend. The Black Widow was a legend.

It put everything into perspective.

Whoever was following her had to be one of those same people who wanted to recreate the Red Room. What better way to restart the Red Room then by using the legendary assassin's child. If they got a hold of Anna. . .not even his father could keep him from killing them.

* * *

Anna was pulled out of her bed in the middle of the night. Before she could even defend herself, she was pulled out of the apartment by a strong man with a robotic arm and very cold eyes, so there really was no way for her to be able to fight back.

"Anastasia Rogers," an older man said almost urbanely and politely, but there was something sinister within his words that made them even darker than they should have been. "You have been chosen to follow in your mother's footsteps. The highest honor."

Everything became cold and icy, and she would never be able to remember those next moments. Moments that would be similar to her mother's and aunt's childhoods, and they would haunt her, no matter what she would do.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Please read and review!

* * *

Damien went to her apartment to talk with her, maybe plan something pretty important. No one answer the door when he knocked, and he felt very suspicious and a little worried about her. The door was unlocked (should not have been), and he pushed it open. Rogers was lying on the ground, unconscious and with blood running from the cut under his eye. He called the police and knelt next to the man, finding a pulse on him.

That was when he allowed himself to look for Anna. Uneasiness began to bubble to the surface. Nothing. There was no sign of Anna.

"Anna. . ." Damien said, allowing that little weakness to break through. "Anna!"

Rogers groaned as he began to regain consciousness. He sluggishly sat up and looked around him as well.

"They took her," he managed to choke out.

"Who?" Damien asked, his voice becoming very cold and dangerous.

Rogers looked at him with surprise, like he was having difficulty believing he could be so dangerous at such a young age.

"I can't tell you," Rogers said forcefully as he tried to get to his feet. "That's beyond classified."

"By whom?" Damien demanded, but Rogers did not really respond. "How do you expect me to help if I don't know anything?"

"You're not," Rogers said. "Stay out of this, kid. It's too dangerous for you."

* * *

Damien paced around the Cave, the worry for Anna eating away at him. He was trying not to show it, and he became even more irritable, sending even Greyson on edge. Anna needed to get away from whoever took her. Fast.

Todd walked into the Cave, then. He was supporting Alexandra Romanoff who looked very pale, and there was blood running down one leg of her leggings. Damien helped him get her into the medical part of the Cave, and Todd followed her instructions on dealing with her injury.

"What happened?" He heard Todd quietly ask her.

"I can't talk about it," she said.

"Can't or won't?" Damien demanded. "It has to do with Anna's disappearance, doesn't it?"

The tightening of her lips and eyes were confirmation enough for him. Todd scowled back at him.

"Can't you see she's been through enough?" He demanded.

"I was keeping an eye on my neice," Romanoff said. "Like I told my sister I would, and I was shot in the leg by one of the people who took her."

"The Red Room," Damien said.

She became even paler than she was, and her eyes both held the pain of years trying to live past what she had done and fear.

"You should not know anything about them," she managed to say.

"I do," Damien said.

"He grew up with the League of Shadows," Todd explained, but he was glaring at Damien. He did know about that group.

"Then you know what they are doing to her," Romanoff said, letting her shock fade away. "Mind control. If she is found, she would not be the Anna we know. She will be a killer, one of the best, and there would be nothing we can do for her."

* * *

She was given a name and a picture of the man that he wanted dead. The young woman felt nothing about having to kill another human being. He made sure of it. That feeling of humanity was only a faded memory, and she had become emotionally distant. Cold. Just the way he wanted her to be. She followed that man, waiting for the moment when he would be alone.

She was an assassin, a very skilled one, and of the likes that had not been seen in decades. That man would not even know what happened to him when she was finished. she stepped out of the shadows, and the last thing he would remember was her vacant smile and icy cold eyes.

* * *

"He was a senator," Greyson explained. "He was staying with his wife's family when he just disappeared."

"Was there any evidence of what happened to him?" Damien asked, looking through that man's information, but he could not help but worry about what it all could even mean.

He was deadened to everything around him. Nothing was important now that Anna was missing, and he could guess what was happening to her and what she had to do. All he had been doing was his life as Robin. That was all that could distract him from knowing that Anna, the sweet artist that she was, was a cold assassin, and there was a possibility that he would find her during his nights as Robin.

"Nothing," Greyson said. "There's nothing. He just disappeared without a trace."

That could mean that he was killed, maybe by Anna, or just gone. Damien had to feel that he was not dead. A disappearance was not a statement or a message. It was nothing that group or his mother's would have done. If there was a chance that she killed him, then he had to feel horrible. Anna would never be able to live with herself if she knew that she killed another human being in cold blood. It only reinforced his desire to get her back.

Helena walked into the Cave, and she was wearing a look of concern.

"James is here," she told them. "With his mom. She wants to talk to you." She gestured towards the screen. "About that."

A woman with short, curly red hair was waiting in the front room. She looked like she was keeping her strong emotions in check, but a small amount managed to break through. Worry. Fear. Pain.

"Drop that case," she said when she noticed they were in the room.

"Excuse me?" Damien demanded.

The woman, Anna's mother, closed her eyes and sighed to keep herself under control. She seemed to know what was really happening, and she must have felt that keeping everything a secret would keep her daughter safe, even after losing her.

"We are already working on it," the woman said. Before they could even say anything, she walked over to Helena. "It was lovely to finally meet you, Helena. I've heard so many good things about you." With those words, she turned to leave, and she did not need to look back at them. "I'll know if you looked.


End file.
